5 Great Free/Cheap Kindle Books for Kids

Since buying my first Kindle in November, I've been a regular visitor to Amazon's list of the current top 100 free e-books.  Routinely, I find free children's picture books and I pick up quite a few of them.  Some of these free books are "worth every penny"--none!  These poor quality books repeat the same old themes, sometimes make no sense, are hackneyed and even have poor illustrations.  But I also find the occasional gem.  I want to share 5 nice finds with you.  All of these were originally free when I picked them up, but double-check before purchasing.  Some of them may now a cheap buy.

My reviewing is based on navigating my black and white screen Kindle with keyboard and 3G.  Undoubtedly, I would get more out of picture books using a Kindle Fire, but it's not in the budget numbers right now.

Without further ado, here are 5 solid picks in free/cheap Kindle books for kids:
1. Don't Juggle Bees! And Other Useless Advice For Silly Children by Gerald Hawksley.  This is a really funny, silly book that will make your toddler giggle.  There are a couple of "rhyme-fillers" but most of them make splendid absurdity.  Really cute pictures too!  This is my personal favorite of any free kids' books I have downloaded.

2. Is It Nice? Manners For Kids by Casey Chapman is a very simple book with simple print and illustrations.  But I like how it asks kids directly if different behaviors are nice.  My daughter answered the questions and got actively engaged in it!  Because there weren't too many words, the book gave us a great chance to talk through a few "manners scenarios" too.

3.  My Little Pet Dragon (A fun picture book for children 3-6!) by Scott Gordon.  I must confess that I don't like most of Scott Gordon's picture books that I found online but I do like this one.  It has pretty simple illustrations, but they're cute and the text has a few silly jokes that will get a giggle.  It's one we've read not just once, but re-read.

4. Pookie and Tushka Find a Little Piano by Jorge.  This one is a Burrito pick.  For some reason, this somewhat random story of little polar bear and penguin find a frozen piano is becoming one of her favorites.  The pictures are engaging and the book ends with some facts about the Icelands and about polar bears and penguins.  The book also talks the timid little polar bear out of some of his fears through the power of friendship.  There some amusing pictures of monsters too.

5. Hana Rescues Misty by Azra Z. Mehdi.  This is probably the best illustrated children's book I have found.  The pictures are really beautiful.  The story is a bit old-hat, but still touching and sweet.  Kids who love animals will love the story of the little girl who rescued the cat caught in the tree.

I hope you and your little ones enjoy these as much as we did!